Faux Fur vs Real Fur

As fashion adapts to society, certain trends start to go out of style. After all, trends rely on the consumer in order to remain in circulation for as long as possible.

In the 1960’s, real ‘luxury’ fur such as red fox, wolf pelts and blond mink were incredibly popular within the fashion industry, gradually evolving into a billion-dollar worldwide trade of ‘luxury’ fur products.

Here at 2forjoy, we recognise the divide in opinion within the fashion industry which has led to the introduction of a real fur alternative that could be considered just as damaging; faux fur. Read on to find out more…

Real Fur

Once one the most sought after fashion adornments, real fur graced the catwalk, starred in movies and was a staple of Hollywood life. In the 1960’s, clothing crafted using real fur became more affordable which means that it wasn’t a trend reserved for the rich. With this said, the blind popularity didn’t last too long and in the 80’s, animal rights activities began campaigning in protest of clothing crafted from real fur. After all, the industry practice queries the ethics of the fashion industry and makes us question why animals should be slaughtered and worn as a statement of wealth and prosperity. Whilst the reputation of real fur garments was tarnished, it was still a relatively successful industry that was generating billions of dollars in revenue every year.

Faux Fur

Interestingly, faux fur is not as contemporary as people think as it was first introduced in the early 20th century. With this said, it managed to take centre stage when fur farming became illegal in the UK in 2002, forcing people to seek out cruelty-free alternatives. As one may expect, faux fur divides opinions in the fashion industry, especially when it comes to ethics and the environment. For instance, it is an alternative that doesn’t leave hundreds of thousands of slaughtered animals in its wake which means that it wins points with animal rights activists.

On the other hand, the majority of faux fur is crafted from synthetic fabrics like plastic which is incredibly damaging for the environment. These materials can be low in quality and the faux fur garments are often made quickly and cheaply meaning that they have a considerably short lifespan. This makes it difficult to recycle and is subsequently destined for landfill where it is left to pollute the atmosphere and damage the environment.

When it comes to clothing production here at 2forjoy, our ethical fashion philosophy plays an important role in the decisions we make and the methods we implement. In fact, we work hard in order to increase the transparency within our industry and ensure that the way our clothing is crafted does not call our morals into questions. That is why all of our clothing is considered animal cruelty free! To find out more information about the ethics of 2forjoy clothing, get in contact with a member of the team today.